Severus' and Harry's Annoying Family Addition
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: Sequel to "Severus' and Harry's Family Experience" and "Severus and Harry's Quality Family Time". Sev and Harry have to look after a de-aged Albus. Set in fifth year, completely AU, partly OOC, childfic. Involving Minerva too - ADMM. sick!Harry
1. Chapter 1

**Severus' and Harry's Annoying Family Addition**

**Chapter 1**

Harry landed safely next to Severus in the living room, still holding on to the floatable sea horse that had served as Portkey back from their holiday resort in Ibiza. "Are you all right, Harry?" Severus enquired, seeing that Harry remained sitting on the floor.

"Ah, yes of course," Harry replied and gratefully took Severus' hand to pull himself up and sit on the sofa. "Um... are we going to do anything tonight, Dad? I mean it's New Year's Eve. Are we going up to the Great Hall?"

"I don't know, Harry; let's have a cup of tea, and then I'll call Professor McGonagall and ask what they have planned for tonight."

At this instant, there was a knock at the door, and Harry and Severus could see Minerva and Poppy stand outside with a small boy in tow. "Did you put a spell on our rooms to be alerted when we arrived?" Severus growled, waving them in impatiently.

"Yes indeed," Minerva replied crisply, "because we're in dire need of help."

"In fact, we couldn't wait for the two of you to come home," Poppy supplied and threw the small boy a glance. "Introduce yourself to Harry and Severus, sweetie."

The small boy stepped ahead and said, "Hewwo, I'm Awbus, and I'm two. I de-aged mysewf accidewwy."

Severus and Harry simultaneously glared at the child. "You what?!" Harry blurted out, totally annoyed.

"I cannot see what this has to do with us," Severus sneered, glaring at Minerva and Poppy.

"Well, Severus, you will understand that Poppy and I are too old to raise a toddler. You and Harry are much more adequate to raise Albus until he is back to seventeen."

"And how long will it take for little Albus to become seventeen?" Severus asked in a dangerously quiet voice.

"It won't take too long, Severus," Poppy replied calmingly. "We can age him one year each day until he is seventeen, provided that nothing extraordinary happens. Then we can give him the complete dose of the aging potion and age him back to his normal age."

Noticing that Albus looked a bit sad, Harry held out his arms, motioning Albus over to him, and pulled the small boy onto his lap. "Shh, it's all right, little one. We will look after you," he promised, speaking softly to the child.

"Fanku," Albus told Harry relieved and proceeded to lie down comfortably on the boy's lap.

"What happened?" Severus enquired, giving the two ladies a questioning look.

Minerva sighed. "Albus didn't speak with us at all during the whole week, not even on Christmas. Apparently, he was very angry because we went on holidays and probably especially because we took you and Harry with us."

"No, I wanted to go on howiday wif Miwa," the small boy spoke up all of a sudden, before he nestled deeper into Harry's T-shirt and tiredly put a thumb into his mouth.

Minerva blushed deeply and replied, "You only had to tell me so, Albus. Well," she sighed, "yesterday after lunch he told me that he was going to use your classroom in order to brew a headache potion for me, because I had a terrible headache and neither in Poppy's stock nor in your private lab were any more headache potions left. When he didn't show up for dinner, I went into your classroom and had a look, and there he was."

"I suggest that he stays in Harry's room together with Harry. Would it be possible for you to remain here in your father's quarters instead of returning to your dormitory for another three weeks, Harry?" Poppy enquired softly, giving the boy a piercing look.

"Of course, that's all right," Harry replied automatically. "What am I going to do during classes? Can I take him with me to class?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to take him with you, Harry," Minerva replied and gently added, "I'm willing to babysit him from time to time, for example if your father isn't available for some reason while you have Quidditch practise or such."

"Thanks a lot, Professor. Um... and perhaps someone has to show me how to change a nappy," Harry added hesitantly. "He stinks."

"All right; let's take him into your room," Minerva suggested and quickly conjured a small cot along with a changing table and an additional wardrobe in Harry's room.

Harry stepped in front of the changing table and laid Albus down, who giggled happily when he saw the small green dragons on the soft padding, which were roaring all the time. Harry watched intensely when Poppy gently showed him how to take the dirty nappy off and put a new one on. '_Oh, I hope I'll remember how to do that in the morning_,' Harry thought and thanked the Medi-witch profoundly, while he dressed Albus in the yellow footie pyjamas with a pattern of orange lions that Minerva had conjured for the toddler.

"Normally, you have to give him a bath in the evening; however, I already bathed him today, because I thought you might be tired tonight," Poppy explained kindly, causing Harry to sigh in relief.

"Thanks a lot, Madam Pomfrey. At what time does he have to go to bed?"

"At this age, I'd put him to bed right away. Until he is at least five or six, you should put him to bed right after dinner. You can eat at the Great Hall as usual, but if everything is too much for you, you may eat here in your quarters. However, you need to come to my office every day, so that I can give him his next shot, which will age him a year, provided that your father is so kind and brews the potion for me tonight or tomorrow."

"Don't hesitate to ask us, if you have any questions or problems, Harry," Minerva said gently and gave Albus a kiss on the forehead, before Harry put him down into his crib. "Good night, sweetie," she said softly.

"Stowwy?" Albus asked pleadingly, glancing at Harry, who gave Minerva a questioning look.

"Oh I'm sorry, Harry; of course, you need story books too." She pulled a small parcel out of her robe pocket and enlarged it. "Look, these are the books, which we had for you, while you were de-aged."

"Oh that's great; there were several books, which I really loved," Harry replied and held out three books for Albus to choose one.

The small boy chose the story about a dragon and a lion becoming friends, which six-year-old Severus and Harry had loved very much. While Harry read the story to Albus, causing him to fall asleep after mere minutes, the adults retreated to the living room to have tea. After a questioning glance at his father and a comforting nod in return, Harry hesitantly joined the teachers and sat down in front of the fireplace.

"He seems to have his complete memories; however, his body is that of a two-year-old and so is his mind. He has all the needs and ideas of a toddler," Minerva explained.

Harry listened to the teachers' conversation for a while, noticing that he was much too tired to stay up until midnight. '_Who knows how hard it will be to look after little Albus_,' he mused, groaning inwardly, and decided to go to bed. Seeing that everyone watched him in concern when he said "Good night," he sighed in annoyance and mumbled, "I'm fine; I'm just tired. Do you think Albus will wake up during the night?"

"Last night, I had to comfort him after a nightmare," Minerva replied gently, "but after that he slept like a little angel."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

It was in the middle of the night, when Harry woke up by Albus' sobbing. He hurried over to the child's bed and gently picked him up. "It's all right, Albus; it was only a dream. You're safe here at Hogwarts," he told the child in a comforting voice, noticing that the toddler calmed down immediately. "Do you want to tell me what it was about?" he asked, gently rocking the boy on his lap.

"It was Vowdemow; he kiwed many people, and he wanted to kiww you and Sewwus too, and..." He slowly trailed off.

"It's all right, little one," Harry cooed, gently stroking the child's cheeks. "Voldemort is dead and he can't harm us anymore. Now, let's try to get some more sleep, will we?" He gently placed the boy back into his crib, but Albus scrambled onto his feet, holding on to the rails, and his lower lip began to tremble dangerously.

"Hawwy's bed togewer?" the small child asked, giving Harry a pleading look.

"All right then; you can come in my bed," Harry relented, feeling too exhausted to fight with a two-year-old. He picked the boy up once more and laid him down next to himself, cuddling him close. Seconds later, both of them were fast asleep.

When Harry woke up in the morning, he noticed immediately that Albus was not in his bed anymore. '_Did I dream the whole thing?_' he mused surprised, but a glance around the room showed him that the changing table and everything else that Minerva had conjured in the evening was still there. '_Oh no!_' Harry thought, horrified. '_Where can he have gone?_'

* * *

_The instant I posted the last chapter of the previous story, Rocki asked me to write another sequel, in which Severus and Harry had to put up with a de-aged Albus – thanks to Rocki for coaxing me into writing this story. Well, I hope you'll like it!_

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or tell me, so that I can correct them!_

_All recognizable characters belong to Mrs. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Absolutely horrified, Harry walked over into his father's bedroom; however, Albus was nowhere to be seen. Not wanting to wake his father, who was still peacefully asleep, Harry quickly pulled his robes over his pyjamas and after searching every room in their quarters headed out into the castle, shivering a bit because the halls were really cold. '_Well, it's about thirty degrees colder than in Ibiza_,' he mused while he looked in the Potions classroom and headed up in the direction of the Great Hall.

HP ALBUS' POV HP

Albus woke up in Harry's arms, suddenly remembering that his phoenix familiar, Fawkes, was not with him. '_Want to go play with Fawkes_,' his two-year-old mind told him, and he silently scrambled out of bed and left the room. He soon noticed that it was a long way to walk on his small feet, and it was terribly cold in the old castle only in his pyjamas. After a long time of walking, Albus exhaustedly crawled through the last hall until he finally reached the gargoyle that guarded the headmaster's office. Fortunately, he remembered the password. "Final demise," he told the annoying busybody that had the guts to ask him, the headmaster, even if he was de-aged to a toddler, for the password.

"Wrong password," the gargoyle snarled and absolutely refused to let the small boy into his own office to his own birdie.

Albus tiredly lay down on the stone floor in front of the gargoyle and fell into an exhausted sleep, until a soft voice penetrated his ear two hours later.

HP HARRY'S POV HP

Harry had no idea, where Albus could have gone, and decided to go to the headmaster's office first. Already mentally preparing himself to have to guess the password among a hundred different types of sweets, Harry finally reached the gargoyle, nearly stumbling over the object of his search.

"Albus! What are you doing here?" he asked softly, while he sat down on the steps and pulled the toddler onto his lap. "Hey little one, wake up," he cooed, softly stroking the child's cheeks.

"Hawwy!" Albus sighed in relief. "Wanted to pway wif Fawkes, my bawdie," he told the older boy.

"But the gargoyle didn't let you in, because Professor McGonagall has changed the password?" Harry guessed.

"Yes," Albus replied miserably and let out a few small sneezes. "Hatchoo, atchoo."

"Oh no! Don't tell me you caught a cold, lying on the cold stone floor for who knows how long," Harry groaned. "Why didn't you just call Fawkes? He surely would have come to you even to my room."

"Fawkes!" Albus called, and in the blink of an eye Fawkes appeared in front of them. "Oh Fawkes! I misseded you," Albus told him in his high, childish voice, causing Fawkes to let out a few calming trills.

"Fawkes, would you like to accompany us to my room? Albus is currently staying with my father and me until he'll be back to his usual self. We can ask Professor McGonagall for your perch later on."

Fawkes let out a happy trill and jumped onto Harry's shoulder. "Well, I guess that means yes," Harry smirked and pulled the toddler up, so that Albus could put his head on his shoulder and walked back down to the dungeons.

Back in Harry's room, Fawkes settled down on the changing table, trilling something to the dragons on the padding that began to roar as soon as the weight on the padding alerted them to the fact that they had a visitor. "Can you please tell Fawkes to shut up?" Harry asked Albus, while he went back to bed, the small boy in his arms.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

A short time later, Severus stepped into the room, seeing that the two boys were peacefully asleep, and retreated to his private lab to brew the aging potion for Albus. Harry woke up an hour later to Albus' sneezing. "Hey little one, are you all right?" he asked softly, gently pulling the small boy close. "Um... no, you aren't, are you? You stink a bit," he noticed immediately. "What do you think; shall we go and change your nappy, hmm?"

"Yes pwease," Albus replied softly.

"All right, sweetie, let's get you cleaned up," Harry told him and got up, gently picking the child up. "First, we have to get clothes for you, don't we?" Harry spoke to him as he stepped over to the wardrobe, astonished that it was full with clothes.

"The wardrobe is probably self adjusting," Severus explained, who just stepped into the room in time to see his son's surprised expression as he inspected the contents of the wardrobe. "It's full with clothes for Albus' age, and as he ages, the contents of the wardrobe will change and adjust accordingly."

"Wow, that's cool, Albus, isn't it?" Harry said, and pulled a green jumpsuit out of the wardrobe, causing Albus to protest vehemently.

"No," the small boy whimpered, trying to reach for an orange jumpsuit with yellow and red lions on it.

"Gryffindors," Severus groaned, causing Harry to chuckle, while he carried the child to the changing table.

"Dad, could you please ask Professor McGonagall for Fawkes' perch? I think he'd like to stay here with Albus for the time being," Harry asked and told his father how he had searched for Albus early in the morning.

"All right," Severus replied and headed to the fireplace only to return a few minutes later with Fawkes' perch, which he placed next to the crib.

Fawkes immediately let out a happy trill and took position on his perch. "Thanks Dad," Harry mumbled in relief, while he engrossed himself into dressing the toddler into the Gryffindor coloured clothes, noticing that the child shivered immediately when the cold air of the dungeons reached his naked body. '_Maybe we should put a warming spell around the changing table_,' Harry mused. '_But, well, he'll be three today, and then we won't have to use the changing table anymore_,' he remembered, while he absentmindedly closed the buttons of the jumpsuit.

"Now, is that better?" he asked the small boy, who was averting his eyes to face the ceiling through the whole process as if he felt it embarrassing to get his nappy changed by Harry.

"Yes, fanku," he replied, slowly looking at Harry, who noticed that the boy's voice was getting a bit hoarse.

"Are you feeling well, Albus?" he asked worriedly, gently placing a hand on the child's forehead. "Dad, could you feel his forehead, please? He seems to have caught a cold while he was out in the cold halls this morning, but I'm not sure if he has a fever. I think he feels a bit warm though."

Severus carefully laid his slender hand on the boy's forehead, noticing that Albus nearly jumped startled at the cold touch. "I believe that he has a fever, Harry; you better take his temperature." He summoned the thermometer, handing it to Harry, who tried to coax the child into opening his mouth. "No Harry, that won't work," Severus told him, smirking. "Sit down on the bed and take him onto your lap. Then we can stick it under his armpit."

Harry did as he was told and with Severus' help managed to take Albus' temperature. "37.6," he announced when he pulled the thermometer out. "That's not too bad. Do you think I should take him to Madam Pomfrey?"

"No Harry, I don't think so, at least not yet. Let's have breakfast and then we can see how his condition is afterwards. Do you prefer to go to the Great Hall or have breakfast here?"

"Here," Harry replied, giving Severus a pleading glance.

Together, they went into the small kitchen of their quarters and called Dobby for breakfast and a children's chair for Albus, glad when everything appeared within seconds. Harry sat Albus into his chair and put a small piece of toast with jam onto his plate, knowing what the older Albus always used to eat for breakfast. However, Albus couldn't be coaxed into eating anything, and after a short time he began to raise his hands towards Harry, clearly wanting to be taken out of his chair.

"Are you feeling unwell, Albus?" Severus asked gently, giving the child a piercing look, who merely put a thumb into his mouth and tiredly leaned into Harry's arms.

"I'm going to take him to Madam Pomfrey," Harry said determined. "He suddenly feels much warmer to the touch. Will you accompany us, Dad?"

"All right; wait a moment, Harry, and let me take the batch of the aging potion with me, although I'm afraid that we can't give it to him if he's having a fever."

'_Oh no!_' Harry groaned inwardly, while he followed his father up the steps to the hospital wing, carrying the toddler, who was once more resting his head on Harry's shoulder. "It's all right, sweetie," Harry spoke to the child in a soft voice. "Madam Pomfrey will make you feel better in the blink of an eye."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

"Ah, you're here for his shot," Poppy greeted them and motioned them over into her office.

"No Poppy, the dunderhead seems to have managed to get a cold by gallivanting through the cold castle only in his pyjamas," Severus explained quickly, clearly expressing his annoyance with the de-aged headmaster.

"Oh Albus, that was stupid now, wasn't it?" Poppy asked gently, while she motioned Harry to put Albus on a near-by bed.

However, the toddler had other ideas. He didn't want to be put on a bed but decided to cling to Harry, so that Poppy had no other choice than to examine him on Harry's lap. She waved her wand over the toddler and sighed in exasperation. "I'm afraid you'll be stuck with a two-year-old for at least a week," she told Harry with a grave expression on her face.

* * *

_Thanks for your kind reviews! I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or tell me, so that I can correct them!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"At least a week?" Harry asked horrified. "What's wrong with him?"

"He has bronchitis," Poppy replied. "You should know better than to run through the castle in the cold only in your pyjamas, Albus."

"He also slept on the cold stone floor for I don't know how long," Harry explained, causing the Medi-witch to shake her head in annoyance.

"Well, I need you to brew the potion against lung infection for toddlers," Poppy turned to Severus, who gave her a confirmative nod. "Harry, you can either stay here with him or take him with you and bring him here once a day, so that I can examine him."

"I'd prefer to take him with me, but what do I have to do with him?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"You have to give him a small phial of his potion three times a day and a fever reducer up to three times a day only if his fever exceeds 39 degrees. In that case, you have to keep him in bed. Otherwise he may play quietly, but of course no running around while he is ill. He probably won't eat as long as he feels so feverish, but you can give him half a dose of a nutrient potion twice a day instead. If his fever is still too high when classes begin, you may bring him to me, and I'll look after him while you're in class, provided that you won't get sick as well."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Harry and Severus quietly walked back down to the dungeons, carrying Albus all the way. "What are we going to do with you, sweetie?" Harry asked the child in a soft voice. "Would you like to rest for a while?"

"Yes," Albus replied miserably, coughing a few times. When Harry tried to put him back into his crib, he refused vehemently and clang to Harry, nestling even deeper into his robes.

"Why don't you lie down together with him for a while, Harry? A bit of rest won't harm you," Severus suggested, knowing that Harry still wasn't back to his normal strength after the Grindylow pox he had suffered from a few weeks ago.

"Dad, I have to study for the OWLs. Remember how many classes I missed before Christmas. I don't know how long we were ill then, but I think I've missed at least two weeks of classes."

"Don't panic over the OWLs right now; you still have enough time to study. I will help you, and if I heard correctly, Professor McGonagall also promised to help you," Severus said softly, before he gently tucked Harry and the de-aged headmaster in.

Twenty minutes later, Harry noticed that the small boy was fast asleep and carefully freed his arm from under the child, getting up quickly. He sat down at his desk and began to do his assignments, which Minerva had collected and brought for him. However, lacking the warmth of Harry's body, it only took the toddler a few minutes to wake up, feeling cold and miserable. He began to wail, and before Harry had even finished writing his sentence and could see after the toddler, his wails turned into harsh coughs, until he finally managed to empty his stomach all over Harry's bed.

Harry quickly threw a scourgifying charm over the boy and his bed, cleaning everything up in a blink. "What's wrong with you, Albus? Do you feel so unwell?" he asked gently and picked the toddler up, noticing that his baby blue eyes were slightly glazed over and his cheeks were flushed deeply. "Do you have a belly ache too?" he asked worriedly.

"No, bewwy is fine now," Albus replied hoarsely.

"Let's see if Daddy will have your potions ready soon, shall we?" Harry spoke to the child in a calming voice and carried the small boy out of the room.

"That sometimes happens with children, if they have a cold, Harry," Severus explained calmingly. "I m sure his belly is fine."

Severus made Albus drink two potions, and Harry was glad when the toddler complied and drifted off to sleep in the blink of an eye. Harry waited a few minutes until he was sure that the child was fast asleep, before he gently put him down in his crib. Then he went back to his homework.

During the next few days Albus was very ill and had a high fever, so that he slept a lot during the day. By the time classes started three days later, Harry had already managed to finish all his assignments and had read through Hermione's notes once. However during the nights, Albus often kept Harry awake due to his coughing, nightmares, or his need to being cuddled because of feeling so horrible.

On the first day of classes, Severus woke up Harry early, so that he had enough time to get Albus and himself ready for class. Harry carefully opened Albus pyjamas a bit, so that he could stick the thermometer under his armpit.

"Still 39.3," he told Severus, who just came back into the room.

"Then you better take him to Madam Pomfrey, so that he can sleep in the hospital wing during your classes," Severus replied, spelling the potions straight into the small boy's stomach.

Harry quickly took a shower and dressed, before he picked up the toddler and carried him over to the changing table to get him ready for the day.

"Yes, you better leave him here," Poppy agreed and motioned Harry to put the boy on the bed nearest to her office.

However, as soon as Albus noticed that Harry intended to leave him there, he threw a huge temper tantrum. Seeing that it didn't help to change the mind of his guardian nor that of the Medi-witch, he jumped down from the bed, not even caring that he hit his head on the floor, and ran over to Harry, clinging fiercely to the older boy.

Harry sighed. After an extremely disturbed night, he couldn't muster the energy to fight an energetic two-year-old. "Is it okay, if I just take him with me?" he turned to Poppy, who gave him a comforting nod.

"If you think you can handle him, it s all right. Harry, are you feeling completely well?" she asked worriedly, noticing that the boy was very pale.

"I m fine; only the night was a bit too short," Harry replied and quickly headed to the green houses for his first class.

Albus spent most of the classes asleep on Harry's lap. During Potions, which was the last afternoon class, Harry noticed that his throat was getting a bit scratchy. '_Oh no, don't let me get sick now. I must look after Albus and I can't miss classes again so soon. I still have to catch up a bit from before Christmas_,' he mused.

Nevertheless, Harry couldn't prevent himself from feeling absolutely dreadful by the time he woke up in the morning. He tiredly got himself ready, before he turned to Albus, who finally seemed to feel better.

During the morning classes, Albus obediently sat on Harry's lap and remained quiet. However, after a short nap, which Harry and Albus took together during lunchtime since none of them wanted to eat, he was very energetic and didn't want to comply at all. He absolutely refused to sit on Harry's lap during Transfiguration, and he didn't want to stay in the playpen either, which Harry had brought into the classroom for him. Finally, Harry relented and sat the child down on a chair between Hermione and himself and used the opportunity to rest his achy head on the table.

Harry did neither notice that Albus unobtrusively took Harry's wand out of his robe pocket, nor that Minerva arrived, who saw immediately that he wasn't all right. He nearly jumped startled when he suddenly felt a cool hand on his forehead. "Harry, you're ill," Minerva told him gently. "Please go either to the hospital wing or back to your own room and lie down. I will keep Albus here and bring him down to your quarters before dinner."

Feeling too ill to fight with the professor, Harry gave her a grateful look and turned to Albus. "Albus, I'm going back to bed. Be good for Minerva, please."

"Yes Hawwy," Albus promised sincerely, tightly holding onto the wand in his small robe pocket.

Harry slowly dragged himself back to his room and lay down immediately. In the meantime, Minerva quickly contacted Severus over the Floo and asked him to check on Harry. During the minute she spent in her office talking to Severus, Albus unobtrusively waved Harry's wand at the class, mumbling a charm he remembered from the time when he was older.

* * *

_Thanks for your kind reviews! I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or tell me, so that I can correct them!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"I want you to transfigure these plush cats into real cats and stun them immediately, so that they cannot leave your desks," Minerva told the class, noticing that Albus was hanging on her lips. His eyes that were still a bit glazed over held a slight twinkle, a clear sign of her old friend's amusement.

Hermione was the first to manage the Transfiguration, apart from the fact that the animal sitting on her desk was not a cat, but a polar bear cub.

While the whole class erupted in laughter, Hermione whispered to Albus, "That was your doing, wasn't it?"

The toddler preferred not to reply and put his most innocent expression on his face. Slightly angered, Hermione tried to transform the polar bear into a cat or to even undo the whole Transfiguration to no avail.

When Draco managed to transfigure his plush cat into a polar bear cub too, Hermione told the surprised teacher, "I believe that was Albus' doing, Professor. I saw him wave a wand before the start of the class."

Minerva gave the toddler an upset glare and waved her wand at the class. "Finite Incantatem. Now, Ms. Granger, Mr. Malfoy, could you please try again," she told the students sternly, and minutes later several cats were sitting on the students' desks.

"Hand me that wand, Albus," Minerva told the child and pocketed Harry's wand, before she picked Albus up and placed him into the playpen, completely ignoring his begging and complaining. "You can be glad if Harry doesn't ground you after the stunt you pulled," she told the boy in a strict voice.

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When Minerva contacted Severus, he couldn't leave his class alone, considering the dangerous potion his seventh years were brewing. However, as soon as his first afternoon class was over, Severus went to check on Harry, who was peacefully asleep. '_Thank God that Minerva was kind enough to take Albus for the afternoon_,' he thought gratefully, observing Harry's flushed face. Seeing how deep Harry was snuggled into his covers, there was no way to take his temperature without waking him up. Severus sat down on the edge of Harry's bed, quickly adjusting his cool hand to the boy's forehead, causing Harry to wake up with a jolt.

"Albus?" he croaked, frantically looking around.

"It's all right, Harry. Albus is in class with Minerva," Severus replied in a calming voice. "What's wrong with you, son?"

"I'm sick," Harry replied hoarsely. "I probably caught whatever it is that Albus has. My throat and my head are sore."

"Let me quickly take your temperature to see how bad it is," Severus said softly, forcing the thermometer under Harry's tongue, before he conjured a cold cloth and adjusted it to Harry's burning forehead, earning a grateful look from glassy green eyes. "39.4," Severus stated, frowning. "How could you even think about attending class with such a fever?"

"I didn't realize it was so bad until Professor McGonagall sent me home."

Severus summoned two phials and placed them on the night table. "I'm going to call Madam Pomfrey, just to be sure that it is what Albus has, and she will give you potions against it. I'm sorry, but I have one more class to teach. Try to rest and enjoy the quiet time without annoying toddlers as well as you can," he advised his son and returned to his class, only shortly stopping at the fireplace to call Poppy.

HP ALBUS HP

Albus sat in his playpen, pouting. '_That's __**my**__ Minerva. She shouldn't deal with the stupid students, but with me. Instead she puts me in here_,' he mused with his partly two and partly a hundred and fifty year old mind. However, he didn't have much time trying to impress Minerva with a quivering lower lip because he suddenly felt absolutely exhausted from the amount of magic he had performed earlier combined with the effects of his illness and could only lie down quickly before sleep overcame him.

HP MINERVA HP

Minerva laughed inwardly. During the last sixty years since she had fallen in love with the man from the first time she saw him, they had had a relationship of teacher and student, colleagues, headmaster and deputy headmistress, and good friends. For a few weeks, they had even nearly been a family, while they raised Severus and Harry as six-year-olds. However, never in all these years had Albus spoken about his feelings towards her. Only now, while he was de-aged to a toddler, he was clearly sending out signs that he indeed was not only having feelings towards her, but that he adored her.

'_Well, it will be funny to see how he'll act when he is back to his normal age. Maybe we should stop aging him when he is my age_,' she mused, while she was waiting for the next students to file in, observing the toddler sleep at the same time.

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After her last class, Minerva picked the toddler up, who woke up startled. "Hi Min," he said, giving her a bright smile.

"Hello Albus, did you have a nice nap?" Minerva asked gently, while she shrunk the playpen and pocketed it.

"Hawwy?" the child asked, looking around surprised.

"Harry is ill in bed. I will take you back to him in time for dinner," Minerva promised, noticing that his face darkened a bit, and took the child with her to her quarters, where she proceeded to read a story to him until she realized that he seemed to be very restless. "What's wrong, sweetie? Are you not feeling well?" she asked in concern.

"Hawwy," the toddler mumbled hoarsely, turning his light blue eyes that were still a bit glassy towards Minerva.

"Do you want me to take you to Harry?"

"Yes pwease," Albus whispered.

"All right, Albus. Let's head down to Severus' and Harry's quarters then," Minerva replied, slightly surprised that the child had taken such a liking to Harry and concerned if Harry would be well enough to care for the toddler. "How is Harry?" she asked immediately, when Severus opened the door and let them in.

"He has bronchitis like Albus," Severus replied sighing. "He's asleep at the moment."

However, Harry didn't have a chance to stay asleep. Before the teachers even noticed that Albus was gone, the small boy climbed up onto Harry's bed, shaking his shoulder. "Hawwy, nappy fanf please?" he whispered, blushing slightly.

Harry lazily opened his eyes. "Kay Albus," he replied, noticing that his voice was starting to fail, and put the toddler down onto the floor to reach for his glasses.

"Hi Fawkes," Albus greeted his familiar, while Harry carried him over to the changing table.

"Harry, are you all right? Shall I change him and give him a bath?" Minerva, who had just entered the room asked.

Inwardly, Harry sighed in relief at the offer; however, noticing that Albus began to frown and squirm under his hands, he replied, "It's all right, I can change him. If you could help me with the bath later on, it would be great though. But he has to eat dinner first."

Minerva sighed. "Oh right, I nearly forgot that I have to make an appearance in the Great Hall for dinner. I will take Albus with me and see, if he eats a bit," she decided, seeing that Harry could hardly keep himself upright.

"All right," Harry agreed gratefully. "Please wake me up when you're back, and I'll help bathe him. We have to take his temperature and make him take his potions before giving him a bath." He handed the cleaned up toddler to his Head of House.

"Please be good for Professor McGonagall, and eat your vegetables," he told Albus sternly and scrambled back into bed.

"Hawwy no go?" the toddler asked disappointed.

"No Albus sorry," Harry croaked and snuggled deep under his covers, glad when Minerva left the room with the child.

Before the meal in the Great Hall began, Minerva tapped her fork against her glass to announce a Hogsmeade visit for the next day, causing all students from third year onwards to applaud excitedly. Immediately afterwards, dinner appeared on the tables, and Minerva busied herself filling Albus' plate and cutting everything into small pieces, so that the toddler would be able to feed himself.

Albus however had other ideas. Absolutely liking the sound of Minerva's fork against her glass, he tried to do the same, causing hundreds of eyes to turn to himself. Blushing deeply, he quickly tried to scramble out of his seat, failing miserably. Seeing that everyone looked at him expectantly, he decided to tell them his opinion and raised his voice. "I don' wan' go Hogsmeade, wan' go to de zoo!"

* * *

HP

_Thanks for your kind reviews! I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or tell me, so that I can correct them!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"You want to go to the zoo, Albus?" Minerva asked surprised.

"Yes, wif Hawwy," the toddler replied.

"Well, I will speak with Harry about it. I don't think he'll be able to take you tomorrow; but maybe on Sunday," Minerva promised. "However, I don't think that Harry can take you alone. Either Severus or I will have to accompany you."

HP

On Saturday morning, Harry was feeling horrible and was spiking a high fever, so that Severus promised to look after Albus. The small child was nearly back to health, and when Poppy came to check on both children, she said, "I believe that we can give him the first dose of the aging potion tomorrow. Please look after Albus today or take turns with Minerva and let Harry stay in bed."

Minerva came down after breakfast only to see a very annoyed Severus and a pouting Albus sitting in his playpen with huge tears running down his cheeks. "Hello Severus and Albus; how are you on this fine morning?" she addressed her two colleagues brightly.

"The morning will be fine, if you take the little monster with you," Severus growled.

"Wan' Hawwy fanf nappy," Albus whined, slowly turning his blue eyes to Minerva.

"Harry is ill and needs to rest," Severus explained for the umptiest time, glaring at the toddler.

"All right Albus, let me change your nappy," Minerva decided, leaning down to the child to take him out of his playpen.

"No!" Albus shouted, wandlessly throwing a protection spell around himself.

"I cannot reach him," Minerva said in exasperation. "He must have done accidental magic, so that I cannot touch him."

Severus stood up and stepped over to the playpen, reaching down for the child, but couldn't touch him either.

"How about Poppy, sweetie? Shall I call her, so that she can change your nappy?"

"No!" the child wailed. "Wan' Hawwy!"

In the meantime, Harry had woken up by all the shouting and wailing and worriedly came out of his room to see what all the commotion was about. "Hawwy!" Albus shouted happily and let himself be picked up by the older boy.

Harry exhaustedly let himself sink on the sofa, cuddling the toddler close. "Hey, what's wrong, little one? Did you give Professor McGonagall and Dad a hard time?"

"Hawwy, nappy fanf pwease?" Albus whispered, giving Harry a pleading look.

Five minutes later, Harry took him back into the living room, putting him back in his playpen. "I don't mind changing him; just wake me up the next time, please," he told Severus and Minerva, before he went back to bed, followed by a simultaneous grateful "Thank you" from Severus and Minerva.

Seeing that Severus was still glaring at the toddler, Minerva took Albus to the Room of Requirement that she wished in form of an indoor playground, where Albus could play and have fun all day long. The toddler was clearly enjoying himself; however, each time he needed to get his nappy changed, Minerva had to bring him down to Harry, and when he became tired after a few hours, he wasn't willing to go back to Minerva but clung to Harry, who finally took him to bed with him, glad that the toddler sank into an exhausted sleep.

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On Sunday morning, Harry was feeling slightly better and absolutely refused to remain in bed. "No Dad, you know that Albus has to get his first shot with the aging potion today, and somehow I can't believe that he'd let you take him to Poppy for that purpose. But well, I don't mind if you try first."

Harry changed and dressed the boy and handed him over to Severus, who placed the toddler on the ground, where he began to throw a huge temper tantrum. "No go wif Sevvus, go wif Hawwy!" he shouted, jumping up and down with both feet.

"If you don't want me to put you in a body binding spell, you better calm down quickly, young man," Severus threatened, causing Harry to sigh in exasperation.

"He's only two, Dad. Albus, give me a few minutes to get dressed, and then I will take you to Madam Pomfrey," Harry promised.

"An to de zoo," Albus replied firmly.

"To the zoo?" Harry asked terrified.

"Yes, Minnie pwomiseded, Minnie an Hawwy go to de zoo wif Abus."

"Well, that might be so, Albus, but not today. Harry is ill," Severus threw in sternly.

"I'm much better today," Harry replied pensively, "and this is the only time I can take him there as a toddler. In a week, he will already be ten, and there's no way that Professor McGonagall could go on a weekday, provided that she really said she would accompany us."

"You will not take him on your own. Either Professor McGonagall or I have to come with you."

"Of course, Dad," Harry answered, rolling his eyes. He quickly dressed and got everything ready in order to take the child out for a trip to London, before he picked him up and carried him to the hospital wing.

"Ah Albus, you came for your aging potion," Poppy addressed the toddler, smiling, before she turned to Harry. "I don't appreciate seeing you out of bed, young man. Can you put Albus down on the bed here, please?"

"I'm afraid not," Harry replied, noticing that Albus nestled deeper into his robes. He sat down on the bed, quietly speaking to the toddler. "Albus, I promise I won't let go, but can you please at least sit down on my lap, so that Madam Pomfrey can give you the shot to make you three and a big boy, hmm?"

"Hawwy pwomise go to zoo den?" Albus asked, looking up into Harry's face.

"Yes Albus, provided that one of the adults accompanies us, I will take you to the zoo," Harry promised, ignoring Poppy's glare for the moment.

Albus nodded contentedly and sat down on Harry's lap, fiercely holding on to the older boy, who proceeded to stroke his cheeks and whisper to him quietly, while Poppy gave him the shot. "Now, sweetie, it's already over," Poppy told him and held out a lolly for him.

"Fank you, Poppy," Albus replied and turned to Harry. "Can we go to de zoo now? You pwomised."

"My, you've grown quite a bit," Poppy told the child, waving her wand at Albus as well as at Harry. "You're a big boy now, are you?"

"Madam Pomfrey, could you please call Professor McGonagall and ask her if she really promised that she would take Albus and me to the zoo today?" Harry asked hoarsely, cuddling the child close when the healer hurried to the fireplace.

After several more discussions because none of the ladies wanted to let Harry go, Minerva and Harry with Albus floo-ed over to the Leaky Cauldron, which was not too far from the zoo, so that Minerva could apparated all three of them near to the zoo into a small side street.

All three of them had much fun watching the animals, especially when they had the opportunity to observe how the penguins were fed. At first, Albus was running around, so that the adults had to walk on to keep up with the toddler's fast pace. However, after a time he seemed to become tired and clung to Harry in order to be carried. Harry always gave in and carried the child for a while until they reached the next spot, where he put him down to walk again for a few minutes. To Minerva's and Harry's amusement, the toddler kept waving his hand at the animals whenever they left a spot to head to the next.

Finally, they watched the feeding of the baboons, which was extremely interesting, especially as the man, who was feeding these aggressive animals, provided them with lots of information. '_They were really interesting_,' Harry thought, once more looking back to the baboons, and stopped dead in his tracks. '_Oh no; I'm hallucinating_,' he thought horrified, suddenly noticing that he felt quite feverish.

"Are you all right, Harry?" Minerva asked in concern. "Shall we go home? We're nearly through anyway."

"Well, we can't leave out the elephants now, can we?" Harry asked Albus, who raised his arms in reply in order to be carried to their last stop before Minerva apparated them straight to Hogsmeade.

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HP

_Thanks for your kind reviews! I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or tell me, so that I can correct them!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

When Harry put Albus into bed in the evening, he gave Harry a pleading look. "Hawwy, can I get a baboo to cuddle wif, please?"

"You want a plush baboon?" Harry asked in surprise. Seeing the child nod eagerly, he quickly conjured a stuffed monkey, handing it to the toddler.

Albus held the monkey with one hand, waving the other hand at the toy. In the blink of an eye, the baboon was turned into a grey cat, looking like Minerva's Animagus form. Harry let out a gasp, which Albus ignored completely. He lay down contentedly, cuddling the cat close, and whispered, "Lov you, Baboo and Hawwy," before he put a thumb into his mouth and closed his eyes.

'_Cat?_' Harry mused, but he was feeling too feverish and dizzy for his mind to work properly. He quickly scrambled into his own bed, sighing in relief when his head touched his pillow.

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When Minerva entered the Snape quarters very early on Monday morning, the newest issue of the Daily Prophet in her hands and an expression of anger on her face, she found Severus sitting in front of the fireplace looking extremely tired.

"What's wrong, Severus?" she asked in concern. "Are you feeling ill as well?"

"No Minerva, but I spent most of the night sitting with Harry. He was delirious with dreams about baboons turned into cats all night long."

Minerva's mouth changed to a thin line. "I'm going to kill Albus," she said angrily. "Here, look at this." She tossed the newspaper at Severus, sitting down on the sofa.

The front page of the Daily Prophet held a huge photo of a Muggle newspaper.

'_Theft or A Bad Joke at the London Zoo?_' was the headline.

Underneath was a photo of hundreds of grey cats similar to Minerva's Animagus form, running around on a huge rock.

'_Yesterday, all the animals have been stolen from the zoo in London, and grey cats have been placed in their position. How could that happen on a Sunday afternoon, while many people were visiting the zoo? Scotland Yard is enquiring_,' the text continued.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

Minerva sighed. "Harry and I noticed that Albus waved all the animals good-bye whenever we left a spot. But we never looked back at the animals. However, apparently Harry looked back when we left the baboons, seeing them turned into cats. I didn't see the cats, but I noticed that Harry suddenly looked extremely ill, and that made me take the kids home so early."

"You mean...?"

"Yes. Albus has done a similar stunt in my class on Friday," Minerva explained the happenings in the Transfiguration class to Severus. "Well, I have to go and undo his spell. I had hoped Harry could accompany me, so that we could throw a strong 'Finite Incantatem' at the zoo together, hoping that it should be enough to revoke all of Albus' magic, but if Harry's condition is so bad, I'll just have to go alone. I just hope Scotland Yard won't catch me."

"That's indeed dangerous, Minerva. Let me go. I haven't been a spy over all these years for nothing. I will take Harry's invisibility cloak with me in any case though," Severus replied determined. "Could you perhaps stay here and watch over Harry and Albus until I'm back?"

"Of course, Severus. Thanks a lot," Minerva replied relieved, knowing that Severus was the much better choice for the task ahead.

Thirty minutes later, the Potions Master was back. "It's all right, Minerva. Nobody saw me, and I turned into my snake form and quickly explored the zoo to check if everything was all right. I only had to cast the spell once to turn all the animals back."

"Thank you so much, Severus," Minerva replied gratefully. She hesitated a moment, before she asked, "Will Harry be well enough to keep Albus with him?"

Severus sighed. "He will probably take him to Poppy for his shot first, and then Albus will be four and able to play in his playpen for a few hours, while Harry is asleep. I will come and look after them during the break between classes."

"We will have to speak with Harry about what Albus did, so that he can punish him as he sees fit. I still have to tell him what Albus did in the Transfiguration class, because Harry was so ill on Friday and Saturday that I didn't want him to worry about Albus' behaviour."

"Why don't you speak with him, while I check on him? I want to wake him up before I leave for class anyway, so that he can get Albus ready and put him into the playpen, throwing a stunning spell on him if necessary."

Severus strode into Harry's room and sat down on the edge of his bed. "Harry, wake up, son. It's time to wake up and get Albus ready." When Harry lazily opened his eyes, yawning, Severus carefully reached under the covers and stuck the thermometer under Harry's armpit, causing the boy to frown at the cold touch. "Harry, Professor McGonagall wants to speak with you for a moment. All right?"

"All right," Harry mumbled hoarsely, only to add, "Good morning, Professor," when he noticed that Minerva took his father's place.

Minerva quickly told Harry what Albus had done at the zoo and also in the Transfiguration class on Friday. "Oh, that's why my wand was on the night table on Saturday morning. I wondered, because normally I put it under my pillow," Harry replied thoughtfully. "I thought I was delirious when I saw all the cats instead of the baboons."

"Well, your fever was high enough to be delirious... And it still is," Minerva replied, frowning, taking the thermometer back.

"Well, Albus will be grounded today. He will spend the day in the playpen, which he absolutely hates," Harry replied, feeling extremely miserable.

"And you will remain in bed," Minerva told him sternly. "I'm going to dress Albus, and I don't care if he likes it or not."

"But Professor," Harry said calmingly, "it's all right; let me dress Albus. I think that he feels totally embarrassed even towards me, but it must be much worse when you change his nappy."

"Harry, you have nearly forty degrees of fever, and you're going to stay in bed," Minerva replied determined and pulled the green jumpsuit that Albus didn't like and a matching dark blue body out of the wardrobe.

"Oh, you're really going to anger him, aren't you?" Harry chuckled until he ended up in a coughing fit.

"Well, that's all part of his punishment," Minerva replied, smirking, and leaned down to take the child out of his crib. "Hello sweetie," she cooed, while she carried him over to the changing table. "How are you on this fine morning?"

"Hawwy?" Albus asked in a very sleepy, whiny voice.

"Harry is ill and has to stay in bed today," Minerva explained quietly and began to undress the child. "Moreover, you were very naughty at the zoo yesterday, and therefore, you're grounded today. You may not choose your clothes or your books to read, and you will spend the day in your playpen."

"Tay wif Hawwy?" Albus asked softly, giving Minerva a pleading glance.

"You may stay with Harry here in his room; however, if Harry tells Severus that you were naughty, he will take you with him into the Potions classroom."

The instant, in which Minerva opened his nappy, Albus blushed deeply and feverishly tried to get away from her touch. "Hawwy! Hawwy, pwease!" he shouted panicking.

Afraid that the toddler might fall down and hurt himself, Harry quickly got up and stepped over to the changing table, when Minerva suddenly felt something warm and wet on her arm. "Albus!" she said horrified, giving Harry a helpless look.

Harry quickly returned to his bed, retrieved his wand from under his pillow, and pointed it at his Head of House, casting a Scourgify spell at her arm. When they both turned back to Albus, the small boy was sitting on the changing table, his face a bright red, and tears were running down his cheeks.

"It's all right, sweetie. That can happen, and it's not your fault," Harry tried to calm the toddler, while he motioned Minerva to step aside and took a new nappy from the pile. "Come on, Albus, lie down and let me dress you. Afterwards we will go to Madam Pomfrey, so that you can get your shot and will be aged to a big four-year-old, who won't need nappies anymore."

Glad that his adored Harry was there now, Albus complied immediately, even if he frowned when Harry put the green jumpsuit on him. "Abu no wike," he informed Harry curtly.

"I know that, sweetie, but Professor McGonagall chose your clothes, and since you were very naughty yesterday, you have no choice today."

In the meantime, Minerva had used the time to call Poppy and ask her to come down to Harry's room in order to give Albus his shot there, and the instant Harry put Albus down onto the floor, Minerva and Poppy entered the room.

"Harry, go back to bed immediately," Poppy instructed the boy determined and turned to the toddler. "Now Albus, shall we make you a big boy of four? Do you need to lie down next to Harry, or are you already big enough to get the shot on your own bed?" she asked gently.

Just like the last time, Albus was very anxious and only agreed to get his shot when Harry cuddled him close, so that he was allowed to lie down next to Harry.

"It's all right, sweetie," Harry cooed, cuddling the child close.

Albus grew a few centimetres, and was very proud when Poppy stated that he was now four years and six months old. "I believe you don't need a crib anymore," she said gently and transfigured his crib into a normal bed.

"Like Harry's," Albus said amazed. "Thank you, Poppy."

"You're welcome, sweetie. However, I was told that you're grounded today and have to play in your playpen." She picked him up and put him into the playpen, ignoring his protests. "I'll come back to look after you tonight, Harry. Please stay in bed. Has your father given you your potions, Harry?"

"No, Professor McGonagall said he had to go to his classroom earlier today."

Poppy handed him two phials, which Harry gulped down greedily, before he closed his eyes and slowly drifted off into a light slumber. He barely noticed that his father entered his room a few times to check on him; however, he did not notice Albus vanish from the sight. When he woke up late in the morning, the playpen was empty. Throwing a helpless glance at Fawkes' perch, Harry saw that the phoenix wasn't there either.

'_Oh no, not again_,' Harry thought horrified and quickly got up, throwing his robes over his pyjamas. '_The Marauders Map_,' he remembered just in time and quickly took the map out of his drawer. However, Albus was nowhere on the map. Harry sighed in frustration and wearily sat down on the edge of his bed.

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HP

_Thanks for your kind reviews! I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or tell me, so that I can correct them!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Dobby!" Harry called, hoping that his friend would be able to help him. "Dobby, I'm sorry to disturb you. Albus has vanished together with Fawkes. Do you think you can find them and bring them back here, please?"

"Yes of course, Master Harry. Dobby wills goes and sees where they are," Dobby promised and popped away.

A few minutes later, Dobby arrived back together with Albus, holding him in a fierce grip on his ear.

"Owwie," the four-year-old whimpered. "I'm good now."

"Please release him, Dobby," Harry demanded gently. "Where did you find him?"

"Master Albus was in the zoo, Master Harry, watching the baboons," Dobby explained excitedly.

Harry gave Albus a very disappointed look, noticing that the child squirmed under his glare. "You were very naughty, Albus," he said hoarsely. "One should assume that you'd behave today after the stunt yesterday." He sighed and thought feverishly what to do. '_I'd like to give him a light spanking, but I don't feel well enough to fight him. He seems to be quite strong with his four years_,' he mused. "Well, you'll be grounded for the whole week, which means that you stay in your playpen, no choosing of books or clothes, and no flying. And I will speak to Fawkes and ask him to go back to Professor McGonagall's office and to not take you anywhere until you'll be back to your normal age. I'm very disappointed," he finished, coughing.

Albus ran over to Harry and climbed onto his lap. "I'm sorry Harry," he just managed to say, before he burst into tears. "But I wanted to play with the grey kitty like Minnie. Minnie won't play wif me," he sobbed into Harry's pyjamas.

Before Harry could reply, Severus entered the room, watching the scene in clear amusement, until Harry told him," Don't laugh, Dad. It's not funny."

"What happened?" the Potions Master asked in his soft, silky voice, raising an eyebrow at his adoptive son.

"Our little ward saw fit to order his familiar to take him to the zoo, so that he could play with the grey cats, which happen to look like Professor McGonagall," Harry explained hoarsely. "And when I told him that he was grounded for a week and that Fawkes would have to go back to Professor McGonagall's office, he began to cry."

Severus took the toddler off Harry and put him into his playpen, giving him a menacing glare. "Albus, you're very naughty. You will stay in here until I'll tell you otherwise." He turned back to Harry, glad to see that he was lying down again, and took the thermometer from the night table, sticking it into Harry's mouth.

Apart from Albus' small sobs every now and then, no sound could be heard while they were waiting for the reading. Severus gently bathed his son's flushed face with a cool cloth. "40.8," he gasped, taking the thermometer back. "Harry, I'm going to take Albus for the rest of the day. I will call Poppy to check on you, and she'll give you your potions. Please stay in bed and rest; I'll come back after each class as usual."

"Okay Dad, thanks," Harry croaked and gratefully closed his achy eyes.

"I'm going to take you with me to the Great Hall for lunch, and then you will join me in the Potions classroom," Severus told the toddler, while he took him out of the playpen and pocketed the shrunken playpen in his robe pockets.

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Severus strode up the stairs to the Great Hall relatively slowly, but still so fast that the toddler had to run in order to keep up with him. He was very angry, knowing that it was at least partly the child's fault that Harry's condition was worse than in the morning in spite of all the potions Poppy had administered.

Albus seemed to sense the Potions Master's mood and tried his best not to anger the man any further. To his great chagrin, the tall man told his Minnie at lunchtime what he had done in the morning. '_I just wanted to play with your feline form_,' Albus thought in exasperation, knowing that nobody was likely to understand, except from Harry... maybe.

"Can I go back to Harry?" he asked, giving the two teachers a pleading glance.

"No Albus, you will stay with Severus for the afternoon, and in the evening, I will come and help Harry to look after you," Minerva told him in her strictest voice, which she normally used for students in detention.

Horrified, Albus noticed that Minerva used that voice for him and that her mouth was stretched to a thin line, which meant that she was also angry at him. He pushed his plate away and stuck a thumb into his mouth, wondering if his baboo was in the shrunken playpen, or if someone had taken it away to punish him for being naughty.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Back in the Potions classroom, Severus enlarged the playpen and put it next to his own desk, placing the child into it. Albus looked around for the grey cat and happily pulled her close. "Love you, Baboo," he whispered softly. He sat down in the farthest corner of the playpen, his Baboo safely tucked under his left arm and his right thumb in his mouth. '_I'd so much like a lemon drop_,' he thought sadly, knowing that the Potions professor wouldn't give him anything today, because he was still angry at him.

In the first afternoon class, the Gryffindor and Slytherin fifth years had to brew a flu potion. Seeing that Harry's best friends were in the class, Albus pulled his thumb out of his mouth and placed a very pitiful expression on his face, making his lower lip quiver as if he was going to cry any minute.

Surely, Hermione was the first to notice. "Professor?" she asked softly, raising her hand. "Can we take Albus and sit him between Ron and me, sir? He seems to be very unhappy in his playpen."

'_Very good, Hermione; a hundred points to Gryffindor_,' Albus thought, not knowing if he was able to give House points to anyone at the moment.

"No, Ms. Granger. Albus was very naughty yesterday and today, and he is grounded for the whole week. I'm afraid that he has to stay where he is," Severus replied in a stern voice, throwing a menacing glare at the four-year-old.

Albus remained quiet during the whole time; however, he was thinking intensely. Against the end of the lesson, Severus stood up to walk through the classroom in order to examine his students' work. As soon as the professor turned his back to the toddler, Albus waved his hand at the cauldrons of the Slytherin students, who were occupying the left half of the classroom.

"What do you think that is?" Severus sneered, pointing at the yellowish liquid in Draco's cauldron.

"The flu potion, sir," Draco replied astonished, before he looked into his cauldron and jumped up startled. "Sir, I'm sure that it was light green two minutes ago."

Severus sighed and peered into the next cauldrons, noticing that all his little snakes seemed to have brewed a different potion from the assigned flu potion. Walking over to the Gryffindors, he saw that their potions, except from those of Ron and Neville that he banished immediately, were brewed correctly. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind and he turned his eyes to the headmaster-turned-toddler, who was sitting in his playpen, watching the class with an extremely innocent expression on his face.

Throwing the toddler another menacing glare that told him that he was going to kill him at the next opportunity, Severus stepped back to Draco's cauldron and took a spoon full of the yellow liquid, sniffled at it and thoughtfully put it into his mouth. '_Just as I expected_,' he thought and turned back to the class. "Ms. Granger and Mr. Dean, please bottle your potions into small phials. I will check them out later, and if they are properly brewed as I believe they are, Madam Pomfrey will be able to use them in the hospital wing. Everyone else, please bottle one phial and put it on my desk."

Turning to the Slytherin side of the classroom, he said, "You efficiently managed to brew the lemon drop potion. Congratulations. Since it wasn't your fault, you will still receive full points for your potions, if they are brewed correctly. Bottle a phial of your potion each and put it onto my desk."

With that, he dismissed the students and hissed at Albus, "You will stay where you are; I'll be back in five minutes. I have to check on Harry."

"Kay," Albus mumbled with a bored expression on his face. As soon as Severus was through the door, he straightened his position and waved his hand at the teacher's desk, looking mischievously at the nearest phial on the desk. "Accio phial," he incanted in a small voice, observing contentedly as the small phial containing a yellow liquid hovered over in his direction.

'_Pity that I cannot make drops out of this, but well, the liquid will taste well too_,' he mused and hurried to gulp down the yellow liquid, craving the lemon flavour.

When Severus entered the room five minutes later, the toddler was lying on the floor of his playpen, grabbing his stomach with both hands as if he was in utmost pain, whimpering miserably.

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HP

_Thanks for your kind reviews! I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or tell me, so that I can correct them!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Albus, what's wrong?" Severus asked in concern and picked the toddler up on his arms.

Unfortunately, the movement caused the child to empty his stomach's contents all over Severus and the Potions classroom's floor.

"Hurts," the child sobbed, sounding terrified.

Severus didn't have time to think. "Harry!" he shouted, glad that he had left all the doors open, so that his son would definitely hear him and abandon all the instructions to stay in bed.

A minute later, Harry appeared in the door frame. "What's wrong?" he asked hoarsely.

"Harry, Albus fell sick and threw up all over himself and me. Can you help please?"

"Need my wand," Harry croaked and quickly retrieved his wand, throwing a strong Scourgify spell at his father and his ward as well as the floor.

"Here, hold him for a minute," Severus instructed Harry, handing the still sobbing toddler over, before he leaned over the playpen, retrieving a small phial. _'V. Crabbe, Lemon Drop potion_,' the phial was labelled. "He really is a dunderhead; he should have taken Draco's potion and not Crabbe's," Severus mused aloud and hurried to the fireplace to call Poppy.

"I'll take him with me to my room," Harry said quickly, seeing that the next students began to file in the classroom.

"Thanks a lot, son," Severus replied gratefully. "Poppy said she'd be there in two minutes."

Harry went back to bed, cuddling the still crying toddler close.

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A few minutes later, Poppy entered the room and waved her wand at Albus, sighing before she turned to Harry. "I have to get something from your father's lab; I'll be back in a minute."

When she came back, she held a phial with a lime green potion in her hand. "I'm afraid this will not be pleasant," she said gravely, conjuring a small bucket at the same time. She helped Harry position the child on his lap so that he could easily empty his stomach into the bucket. "Albus, I'm now going to spell a potion into your belly that will make the bad liquid you drank come out. You can just spit everything into the bucket, so that you'll feel better afterwards. All right, Albus?"

"All right," Albus replied, strengthening his grip on Harry's arms.

"It'll be all right, sweetie; I'm here with you," Harry whispered, gently kissing the child's neck.

Neither of the two boys noticed that Poppy spelled the potion into the toddler's stomach, but all of a sudden Albus began to throw up, emptying his stomach from everything that had been inside. Harry held him close with his left arm and used his right hand to gently rub circles on the boy's back.

"You do that really well, Albus, and it'll be over soon," Poppy told him in a soft voice, while she used the time to wave her wand at Harry a few times.

Finally, Albus relaxed and leaned back into Harry's arms. "Better now?" the older boy asked, while Poppy threw a cleaning spell on the child.

"Yes, much better. Thank you Poppy," Albus replied, giving the Healer a grateful look.

"Nevertheless, you're running a slight temperature, and I want you to lie down either in your own bed, which would be preferable, or next to Harry for a while," the Medi-witch told him, while she spelled a stomach calming potion into his belly. "Harry, you must rest to get your fever down. If you're not better tomorrow morning, I'm going to take you with me to the hospital wing."

Harry and Albus cringed at the Healer's stern voice. "Yes Madam Pomfrey," Harry replied in annoyance, lying down together with the child obediently.

Poppy tucked them in and announced that she'd come back in a few hours. In the evening, Minerva came to take care of Albus, but both children slept through until late in the evening. In the morning, the Medi-witch insisted to take Harry with her to the hospital wing, at least during the day while Severus was teaching.

"Do you want to take Albus with you, Severus, or shall I take him?" she asked gently.

"I.will.not.take.that.little.monster.into the Potions classroom again. Maybe Minerva could take him?" He glanced at his colleague, who had come early to see if she could help Harry with Albus.

"Of course I can take him with me," she replied briskly.

"No, I want to stay wif Harry," Albus suddenly began to wail. "I promise I'll be good."

Finally, Albus was allowed to join Harry in the hospital wing. Poppy assigned Harry a bed in a small single room that was just behind her office and was normally used for patients, who needed to be monitored constantly, and put Albus into the playpen next to the bed, so that she could watch the small child all the time.

When Poppy tried to give him his aging potion in his playpen, Albus made such a fuss and screamed so loud that Harry woke up in spite of the sleeping potion he had been given.

"It's all right, Albus, you can lie in my arm for your shot," he sleepily told the child, slurring the words, which caused him to receive a strange look from Albus, whose expression quickly turned into a relieved smile.

"Fank you Harry," he whispered, when Poppy placed him next to Harry.

"Now, you're six years and eighteen days; congratulation Albus," Poppy stated and put him back into the playpen when she was done with his shot and check-up.

"Don't you think I'm too old to sit in a playpen?" Albus complained in clear annoyance.

"Yes, you are," Poppy returned angrily. "But Harry is very ill, and that's your fault because you come up with strange things and don't let him rest. I can't take you anywhere to play, and moreover, you are grounded because of what you did in the zoo on Sunday. So don't complain and occupy yourself. You have enough books in there to last for a week."

Albus sat down pouting, cuddling his baboo close. "What's your kitty's name?" Poppy asked in a gentler voice, clearly expecting it to be something like 'Minnie.'

"Baboo," Albus mumbled indignantly.

'_Well, he has enough to do in there for a while, but Albus is much too energetic to spend the whole day reading_,' Harry mused worriedly. '_I don't think that he'll stay in there_.' He wanted to ask Poppy to use a strong charm to keep Albus in the playpen, but the effects of the sleeping potion were too strong, and he drifted off into dreamland, before he could voice his thoughts.

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Albus only waited for his chance, which came when a few first years managed to hex themselves and Poppy was called into the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. Seeing that Harry was fast asleep, Albus waved his hand to cancel any possible spells that had been cast to keep him inside the playpen, climbed out and ran all the way down to the dungeons, silently entering the Snape quarters. Back in Harry's room, he grabbed the Firebolt, and a huge smile spread over his face. '_I always wanted to try Harry's broom_,' he mused, while he climbed back the stairs to the entrance hall and left the castle.

'_Oh, is that cold!_' he mused when he mounted the broom and took off into the air. '_Well, it's still winter_,' his older mind told him. '_Maybe it'll get warmer if I fly faster_,' the child thought, trying hard to handle the Firebolt.

A short while later, Harry woke up, feeling very thirsty. He lazily put his glasses on and reached for the glass on his night table, when he suddenly noticed that Albus wasn't there. '_Well, maybe Madam Pomfrey took pity on him and took him with her, wherever she has gone_,' he mused, knowing that the little mischief-maker wouldn't be able to get around the stern Medi-witch.

In the meantime, Albus noticed that it wasn't easy at all to fly Harry's broom. When he was older, he had been a good flyer, but he had never tried to fly on such a fast broom, and his six year old body wasn't able to handle it, especially since it was so cold that his teeth kept chattering making it nearly impossible to concentrate on flying. He tried to convince the broom to land on the ground, but instead of going down, it went up further and further, until Albus could see the heavy snow clouds in a very close distance.

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HP

_Thanks for your kind reviews! I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or tell me, so that I can correct them!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

When Poppy returned to her office, she noticed horrified that Albus was not in his playpen. Seeing that Harry was awake in spite of the sleeping potion she had given him earlier, she sat down on the edge of his bed and asked, "Harry, do you know where Albus is?"

Harry nearly jumped in horror and replied, "No, he wasn't here when I woke up. I thought he was with you." Noticing Poppy's terrified expression, he quickly scrambled out of his bed and reached for his robe pocket.

"What do you think you're doing, Harry? Lie down and rest. I will go and search him," he was told firmly.

"No, let me see where he is," Harry croaked, pulling out his wand and the Marauders' Map, which he quickly activated. "Oh no! He seems to be flying over the Quidditch pitch. I'll be back soon."

Before Poppy even understood what he had said and could hold the boy back, Harry hurried out of the room and out to the broom cupboard, quickly grabbing a school broom and taking into the air. It was terribly cold and Harry's teeth began to chatter as his skin came into contact with the snowflakes that just began to slowly tumble down from the low, heavy clouds. Fortunately, Poppy had run after Harry, and he all of a sudden felt his pyjamas transformed into a warm snowsuit. '_Thank God_,' he thought, while he quickly gained height and rushed over to the small boy, who couldn't control Harry's broom anymore.

Albus was just on the verge of passing out from the cold and the exhaustion, when Harry managed to grab him from behind. "It's all right Albus, I'll bring you safe to the ground," he promised hoarsely, when he went into a dive straight to the ground.

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Harry and Albus spent the next few hours asleep in the hospital wing, until Severus returned from class and took Albus with him to look after him during the evening. Albus threw a huge temper tantrum, because he wanted to stay with Harry but noticed soon that everyone was extremely angry at him. Severus even gave him five swats on his bum and ordered him to stand in the corner for the remaining thirty minutes until dinnertime.

After dinner, Minerva joined Severus and helped him to bathe the boy and put him to bed. When she gently tucked him in, he cuddled his Baboo close and gave Minerva a hesitant look. "Harry always reads me a story," he whispered sadly, missing the boy immensely.

"I can read a story for you, Albus," Minerva replied gently and let the child choose what he wanted her to read. Later, she kissed him on the forehead and said, "Good night, Albus. Sleep well. Tomorrow is Friday, and I'm sure that Poppy will let Harry come back here after Severus' last class."

In the middle of the night, Severus was alerted by an alarm that someone had just left or entered his quarters. By the time he entered the living room, no one was to be seen, so he decided to look into Harry's room, and what he saw met his expectations. Albus' bed was empty.

Groaning, Severus left his quarters and headed up to the hospital wing, not surprised to find the child lying in bed with Harry, who had gently put an arm around the small boy. Too annoyed to wake up Albus and deal with him right away, Severus decided to leave him there until the morning and returned to his quarters.

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Poppy was already very annoyed at the little tyke, who always got himself – and most times Harry as well – into trouble, but when she found him in bed with Harry, who was so ill that he really needed his rest, she became extremely angry.

'_I can't give him his potion right away; he needs another Pepper-up Potion first_,' she mused. '_But I will give him a double potion in the afternoon, so that he'll age up to nine years. It won't kill him, and the earlier we get him back to his normal age the better_.'

When Severus entered the hospital wing and brought clothes for Albus to get him ready for breakfast and classes, he agreed to Poppy's suggestion immediately.

"Is he well enough to attend classes?" he asked, clearly not looking forward to having the child in his class again.

Poppy sighed. "He is still running a slight temperature, but since he can rest in his playpen, I think it would be the best if either you or Minerva took him to class. I don't know when I'll be called away, and I definitely don't want Harry to look after him today. He needs to rest." She spelled a potion straight into Albus' stomach, causing Severus to grin at the steam that came out of the boy's ears.

"Well, I'll take the little troublemaker to breakfast and ask Minerva," Severus replied thoughtfully, while Poppy gently pried Albus out of Harry's arms without waking Harry up.

To Severus' great relief, Minerva offered to take Albus with her, and everyone proceeded to ignore the child's vehement protests against the adults' plan. Albus wearily followed Minerva into the Transfiguration class and sat down on the chair in the first row, where he had sat together with Harry a few days ago.

Minerva quickly conjured a children's desk with a small chair right next to her own and motioned Albus to sit down and stay put. "Otherwise I'll put you in your playpen," she threatened, giving the boy an extremely stern look, while she put a few books as well as parchments and crayons on the desk.

'_I don't like her to speak in such a voice with me_,' Albus thought sadly. '_I promise that I'll behave. If I only had my Baboo_.'

During the morning classes, Albus behaved for once. He read the books on his desk and occupied himself drawing pictures of his Baboo. On top of the first picture he wrote '_For Mineva_' and on the next '_For Harry_.' Finally, he leaned back in his seat and gave the two pictures a close look, causing the cats on the pictures to move around and interact with each other.

"You did that really well, Albus, thank you," Minerva commended him, looking at the picture in awe when Albus handed it over before they left the classroom at lunchtime.

"Can I take this to Harry?" he asked, giving Minerva a pleading look.

"No Albus, you can give Harry his picture in the afternoon after classes, not now," she replied sternly, leading him firmly down to the Great Hall.

After lunch, the Gryffindor and Slytherin fifth years had their Transfiguration class. Albus once more tried to sit down right next to Hermione, but Minerva only had to glare in his direction to make him move back to his own chair in the blink of an eye.

This time, the students once more had to transfigure plush cats into living cats and stun them, before they were told to transfigure them into monkeys and finally back into plush cats. Hermione was the first to manage the transfiguration, followed closely by Draco. When Hermione turned to Ron in order to help him with the task, neither she nor anybody else noticed the plush cat vanish from her desk.

Albus held the plush cat on his lap waving his right hand at it. Seconds later, he gently stroked the grey cat's head, causing her to purr contentedly. "You're so pretty and fluffy, I like you so much. You will be my pet now," he whispered into the small cat's ear. '_What shall I call her?_' he mused. 'It should be Minnie, but Minerva could become angry if I called the kitty after her. Maybe Fluffy.' "I'll call you Fluffy; do you like that?" he whispered again.

The cat obviously didn't mind her name and continued to purr, sounding very relaxed.

"Albus, what are you doing under the table?" Minerva's voice all of a sudden penetrated his ear, sounding very impatient.

Albus slowly raised his head, allowing the professor to get a glimpse on his small cat. "This is Fluffy," he said softly, throwing the woman an innocent glance.

"An interesting name," Minerva commented dryly and ushered the small boy out of the classroom, groaning inwardly at the sight of Albus toddling behind her with the grey cat on his arm. "Albus, I don't know if Severus and Harry will allow you to keep the cat. Since you're staying in their quarters, you will have to ask them."

"All right," Albus agreed, feeling a bit anxious what Severus' reaction might be.

To his great relief, Severus and Harry, who were sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace quietly talking to each other when Minerva arrived with Albus in tow, didn't mind the cat staying in their quarters for a few days.

"Albus, do you remember, who Fluffy is?" Harry laughed. The thought about the fact of a cute little cat having the same name as Hagrid's three-headed dog, made it impossible for him to stop laughing, until he ended up in a coughing fit.

"Oh, I didn't think about that," Albus admitted, only to add thoughtfully, "Then I have to call her Minnie."

Noticing the angry glare Minerva threw at the small boy, Severus suggested, "Why don't you call her Pussy? I believe that is a much more adequate name."

"All right," Albus agreed happily, holding the cat out for Harry, so that they could play with her together.

A few minutes later, Poppy stepped out of the fireplace. She quickly checked on Harry and sent him back to bed, before she turned to Albus. "It's time for your next dose of the aging potion," she said gently.

"But only with Harry," the child replied frightfully, dashing into Harry's room.

"It's all right, sweetie; come lie down here next to me," Harry told the boy softly, cuddling the child close.

Poppy waved her wand at Albus, charming his clothes to grow with him, before she asked, "Do you want to drink your potion, or shall I spell it into your stomach, Albus?"

"Into my stomach please," he replied anxiously, nestling deeper into Harry's embrace.

A few minutes later, Albus was eight years and ten months old, and his joints ached so much that he whimpered in Harry's arm, until Poppy spelled a pain relieving potion into the child as well as a nutrient potion, knowing that he wouldn't be able to attend dinner tonight.

Later in the evening, when Harry and Albus were awake at the same time for once, they talked for a while. After Albus happily told him that Pussy had been Hermione's plush cat in the Transfiguration class, Harry asked softly, "Albus, may I ask you something?"

Albus looked curiously into Harry's green eyes and replied, "Of course."

"Could it be that you like Professor McGonagall?"

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HP

_Thanks for your kind reviews! I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or tell me, so that I can correct them!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Yes, I love her," Albus replied hesitantly, still feeling drowsy enough by the potions to answer the question. "I've always loved her, but I don't think that she has any feelings for me. And I'm more than twice as old as Minerva."

Harry laughed. "Well, yes, you really look twice as old. I'd rather say she's about six times as old as you."

For a moment, Albus' eight-year-old mind took over. "I will write her a letter and ask," he stated, scrambling out of his bed.

'_Oh no; he will be so embarrassed later on if he does that_,' Harry thought and spoke up, "Albus, I wouldn't do that. Why don't you ask Madam Pomfrey? She is Professor McGonagall's best friend and should know her better than anyone else."

Albus' hundred-and-fifty-year-old mind took over again, causing to reply pensively, "You're probably right. I'll go and ask her." Before Harry could hold him back, he left the room.

Harry's first thought was to get up and follow the boy, but then he decided, '_No; we're at Hogwarts, and he knows his surroundings well enough to find Madam Pomfrey. I'll try to sleep a bit more_.'

While Harry went back to sleep, Albus had a confidential conversation with Poppy. "Well, Albus, Minerva definitely has feelings for you; however, if I was you, I wouldn't speak with her about the matter until you're re-aged."

"But then I'll be much too old for her, won't I?"

"Who says that we have to age you back to a hundred and fifty? We could make you become seventy and leave you at that. You're having all your memories anyway," Poppy suggested and noticed that the small boy's eyes began to twinkle happily.

"Can we do that immediately?" Albus asked, getting extremely excited.

"Do what? Age you up to seventy?" Poppy asked incredulously. Seeing Albus' hopeful expression, she explained gently, "No Albus; I will give you the potion to age you up to eleven in the morning; then you will be seventeen, and on the next day, you'll be able to take the final potion. So you have three more potions to take. Maybe in the meantime you try to behave yourself instead of making everyone even angrier at you," she suggested softly. "And now I will take you back to bed. It's nearly midnight."

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In the morning, Poppy entered Harry's room to check on him and give Albus the potion. '_This will be the last time he needs me to cuddle him_,' Harry mused when he held the younger boy tightly in his arms.

"Eleven years and six months," Poppy announced. "Congratulations Albus."

"Thank you," Albus replied happily and turned to Harry. "Harry, can we go flying please? I promise to be good."

"No." Poppy shook her head. "Harry, you may get up today, but you have to rest a lot, and you will definitely not go flying."

"Look at me please, Albus," Harry asked and when the boy complied, he told him in a gentle but firm voice, "You were very naughty the day before yesterday, when you took my broom and went flying without my permission. Therefore, you will be grounded to day. I'm going to stay here in our quarters and try to catch up with my school work, and I think my father has enough books to keep you occupied for the day."

"I'm sorry Harry," Albus apologized with a terrified expression on his face.

"I hope that you're sorry, Albus. And I suggest that you apologize to Professor McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey, and my father as well for being so naughty while you were smaller. Now let's get up."

The two boys spent the day in the living room sitting in front of the fireplace. While Harry read through his school books and Hermione's notes, Albus used the time reading, playing with Pussy, and thinking. When Minerva stepped out of the fireplace in order to see how they were faring, Albus jumped startled, and Harry couldn't help laughing at his expression. 'Well, he definitely was thinking about her, when she showed up,' he mused.

"Is your father in the lab, Harry?" Minerva asked, looking around.

"Yes, he has to brew something urgent for Madam Pomfrey," Harry replied, offering the professor a seat.

"How are you faring, Harry?" Minerva enquired gently, sitting down on the sofa. "Do you need any help?"

Harry gave her a questioning look. "Do you mean with my studies or with your older colleague?"

"I'm not her older colleague. I'm younger than you!" Albus jumped into the conversation.

"Oh right, excuse me, Mister," Harry replied tiredly.

"Both I meant," Minerva explained, looking at her student in concern.

"Thank you Professor. I've already read Hermione's Transfiguration notes, but I've many questions," Harry answered uncertainly.

"I will help you. However, you look as if you already studied enough for the day."

"I'm a bit tired," Harry admitted in a small voice.

"All right then. I will take Albus to the Headmaster's office in the morning, when he'll be seventeen, and explain what happened during his absence, so that he can occupy himself in his office during the afternoon. That will give us some quiet time, during which I can help you with your studies."

"Great Professor, thanks a lot," Harry said in relief, suddenly wishing nothing more than to take a nap.

"You're welcome Harry. Go and sleep for a while. I will stay here with Albus until your father returns," his Head of House promised gently.

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In the morning, Albus was aged up to seventeen years and two months. Against Harry's expectations, eleven-year-old Albus rushed over to him, cuddling close into his arms as soon as he saw Poppy enter the room.

"All right; I want to see both of you at breakfast in the Great Hall," Poppy told them and left the room.

"Albus, you're going to spend the morning with Professor McGonagall," Harry explained gently. "Please behave yourself, so that you won't be embarrassed when you're back to your normal age."

"I won't become a hundred and fifty again," Albus admitted in a soft voice. "Madam Pomfrey suggested aging me up to seventy, so that I'm going to stay seventy."

"Oh, that's a good idea," Harry said thoughtfully. '_Well, that's about McGonagall's age_,' he thought in amusement.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

After breakfast, Minerva took Albus with her into the headmaster's office and occupied the seventeen-year-old until lunchtime. Albus sighed at the pile of parchments, knowing that he had to get back to work as soon as possible. However, listening to Minerva's explanations for a while, his thoughts slowly drifted off. 'She's so wonderful. Why didn't I ask her much earlier?' His one hundred and seventy old mind replied, 'Because you were afraid of her reaction. Maybe you should ask her as long as you're young. Otherwise, you might never be able to.'

"Albus, are you listening at all?" Minerva all of a sudden asked in exasperation.

"Yes my dear, I am listening. However, I need to ask you something first to ease my mind."

"Well, go ahead," Minerva returned, getting impatient.

"I love you Minnie," Albus whispered. "Poppy will only re-age me up to seventy tomorrow." He slowly trailed off uncertainly.

'_I can't believe it. He managed to tell me_,' Minerva thought in amazement. However, she put up a stern expression when she replied gently, "If you still think so when you're seventy, we can speak about the matter again. And now please let's go on with these parchments."

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Albus spent the afternoon alone in his office, thinking about what he was going to ask Minerva in the morning. He couldn't wait for the next day to come. At five o'clock in the morning, he shook Harry awake and said urgently, "Get up Harry; you have to accompany me to the hospital wing."

"What's wrong? Are you feeling ill?" Harry asked in concern, scrambling out of his bed.

"No but I want Poppy to give me the aging potion. Can you please come with me? You know that I need you to be there with me."

"All right," Harry groaned, feeling very annoyed but at the same time glad that Albus would be back to normal soon.

Twenty minutes later, he was back to seventy, and while Poppy was spelling a pain relieving potion and a calming draught into his stomach to ease the pain in his joints, Harry sat on the edge of his bed speaking with him in a calming voice. Suddenly, Albus sat up excitedly.

"Please excuse me. I have an urgent errand," he said in determination, while he got up and rushed into the fireplace, shouting, "Minerva McGonagall's quarters."

"Oh, I don't think he learned anything by his de-aging experience," Poppy groaned. "He seems worse than before."

Harry chuckled. "I can't wait to see if these two will be getting together."

Poppy gave him a gentle smile. "Believe me, they will, Harry, provided that Albus manages to ask Minerva."

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Minerva jumped startled when Albus stepped out of the fireplace at six o'clock in the morning. "Good morning Albus. What happened?" she asked in concern.

"Nothing my dear, except for the fact that I'm not a child anymore," the Headmaster replied gently. "However, I wish to give you this..." He held out an extra large lemon drop.

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HP

_Thanks for your kind reviews! I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or tell me, so that I can correct them!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story_.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Minerva took the lemon drop, and noticed that it wasn't a sweet at all but a small box that could be opened at one side.

"Minerva, I want you to become my wife," Albus said softly, while she looked at the beautiful ring inside the box in amazement.

"This is beautiful," Minerva gasped, wondering aloud, "Where did you get this?"

"Oh, this has been in my drawer for nearly forty years. Ever since it bought it I wanted to ask you but I never dared speaking with you because I thought you might think I was too old for you."

Minerva let out a snort. "I would have answered your question positively, if you had asked me forty years ago," she replied softly. "How old are you now, by the way?"

"I'm seventy. It was Poppy's idea," Albus admitted.

"I thought you looked much younger than before, although your age wasn't a problem for me." '_Who else could get the same idea, which I had a few days ago if not my best friend_,' she mused and gave the man in front of her an amused smile.

"And do you think you could still say 'Yes'?" Albus enquired, gently putting his arm around her shoulders.

Minerva happily leaned into the embrace and replied firmly, "Yes."

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In the evening, Severus and Harry were drinking tea in front of the fireplace. "Now are you glad that we have your quarters back for us?" Harry asked, smirking.

"You can believe that," Severus replied, letting out a relieved sigh. "By the way Harry, I know that Madam Pomfrey allowed you to go back to classes from tomorrow onwards; however, I'd like you to remain here for a few more days instead of returning to your dormitory so soon."

Before he could even explain his reasons, Harry agreed. "I'd like that too, Dad. I have a lot of catching up to do, and I can work much better here, where it's quiet."

Looking pensively into the fireplace, Severus said, "I'm glad that Albus and Minerva got together. At least his de-aging had something good."

"That's true. I always thought that the two of them behave like an old couple. And Albus was really annoying, but he was very cute as well," Harry replied thoughtfully.

**The End**

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HP

_Thanks for your kind reviews! I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or tell me, so that I can correct them!_

_All recognizable characters belong to __Mrs. Rowling__, and I am not earning anything by writing this story_.


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